School News

Year 11 student Hayden Gunn, recently won his first age group national title at the New Zealand Waterski Racing Championships held in Taupo on the 23/24 March 2013. Competition was held over both days, with some very close and exciting racing between all junior boys (aged 13-16) competing, with skiers reaching speeds of up to 80mph. Hayden has steadily competed all season behind THUNDER, a Sonic Boat, but due to a recent sale, had to change boats and drivers just prior to nationals. The change proved to be a positive one, with Hayden winning both races and taking out the national title. Then two weeks later also taking out the Junior North Island Championship and North Island Series. Year 10 student Tom Slack also won a speed restricted (60mph - open age group) National title in Taupo, and followed up with a clean sweep of the 60mph Class by winning both the North Island Championship and North Island Series skiing behind KRUEGER.

If you had asked Year 9 student Hayden Gunn what Drag Ski Racing was two years ago, he probably couldn’t have told you much about it.  That all changed for Hayden in January 2010 at the NZ Water Ski Racing Association Annual Ski School, held at Karapiro. Hayden competed in the Hamilton Bridge to Bridge ski race in October 2009, skiing on double skis alongside friend Ethan Wilson, from Ngaruawahia to Grantham Street and was the lucky recipient of a spot prize – a week at Ski School. That week changed Hayden’s skiing future forever. When Hayden arrived at Ski School, he was a competent skier on double skis and just learning to social ski on one ski. By the end of the week, not only could Hayden confidently single ski on a slalom ski but he had also learnt to drag ski.

Talofa lava, Malo lelei,

The Pasifika group this year consisted of 18 boys from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Kiribati, the Cook Islands and New Zealand. We participated in the Waikato Secondary Schools Pasifika Festival ‘Pasifika by Nature’ at Founders Theater on Saturday the 12^th of May. We practiced day and night for weeks and tensions were high.  As we came closer to the day we were a solid and tight-knit group, ready to do our best. For the seniors in our group it was a great opportunity to be role models for the juniors and give them an experience of what being Polynesian really is.

The group performed two traditional dances of Samoan and Tongan origins. The Samoan dance, faataupati, is a slap dance that was used to show how athletic the Samoan men were. The Tongan dance, taufakaniua is a traditional Tongan war dance that soldiers performed before leaving for battle.  Penisimani and Paula also performed a beautiful Tongan song (E’otua) between the two performances.

HBHS hosted the recent Super 8 Basketball Competition.  Coach Doug Courtney was delighted with our results – after coming 5th in our first Super 8 Basketball bid in 2009, the HBHS 1 Team came 2nd overall in 2010.  This is a meteoric rise in performance.  Mr Courtney noted that New Plymouth Boys’ High School were our toughest competition during pool play, and in the competition as a whole. 

HBHS played Hastings Boys’ High in the semi-finals, which was a challenging encounter.  We pulled away from the Hastings team in the last third of the game, winning by 15 points.  At the end of the final against New Plymouth, there was a 12 point gap in our respective scores.  New Plymouth played especially strong defense, and were deserving champions. 

Mr Courtney stated that our results are a part of a bigger project – his goal is to see Basketball become an even more high profile code at HBHS, and for our boys to become ‘must see’ national sportsmen.

The student leadership structure and the ethos of HBHS lend themselves to a strong service programme.  All students are able to participate in the service programme, and the Service Committee, co-ordinated by Dan Bair, has developed a strategic vision for the ways that the good will and energy of individual boys can be put to the best use.

Bayden Walker (Year 9, pictured right) is a good example of the young men who apply themselves to the service programme.  Bayden works hard at his studies in 931, loves playing hockey, and has completed 30 hours of documented service during 2011 to date.  The bulk of his volunteer work has been in the community; specifically, umpiring hockey games for up-and-coming young players.  Bayden’s efforts were recently acknowledged during an assembly at Te Rapa School.  He reflected on the way that service has fitted into his life and interests:

Describe what has happened to you recently.

I was invited back to my old school, Te Rapa, because of the work I’ve been doing there with hockey training and refereeing.

How long have you been playing hockey?

Saturday 28th July, saw both our 1952 Rugby First XV squad and our 1952 Leavers, revisit Hamilton Boys’ High School 60 years on.

Brian Burkhart, Captain of the 1952 squad, gave a rousing and encouraging speech to our current team, urging them to consider fitness, mental attitude and team spiritedness above all else, in rugby and in life. In their game later that day, our First XV proved that they were listening, winning against Tauranga 29-12, amidst much cheering from the balcony from our Old Boys.

Amongst our Old Boys, were three wives who were Hamilton High School Old Girls and who had met their husbands at school. They have all been married for over 50 years. They thoroughly enjoyed the game, and commented that it had brought back memories of watching Hamilton High School games.